Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T06:23:24.787Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Survey of Prescribing of Psychotropic Drugs in a Birmingham Psychiatric Hospital

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Stephen Edwards  and
Vinod Kumar
Stephen Edwards*
Affiliation:
All Saints Hospital, Winson Green, Lodge Road, Birmingham B18 5SD
Vinod Kumar
Affiliation:
All Saints Hospital
*
∗Correspondence.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Of 603 patients receiving in-patient or day-patient psychiatric care, one-sixth were taking no psychotropic drugs, but nearly 50% of those receiving medication had a combination of two or more such drugs. Hypnotics and minor tranquillisers were frequently prescribed together with neuroleptics and antidepressants. One-third of all patients receiving neuroleptics received a combination of oral and depot preparations, while half of all patients on neuroleptics were prescribed anti-parkinsonian drugs. One-fifth of patients treated with neuroleptics had a diagnosis other than schizophrenia, and one-third of patients treated with antidepressants had a diagnosis other than affective disorder. A comparison of our findings with those from Oxford show some significant differences, particularly in the use of depot, oral, of combined neuroleptic drugs. An analysis of prescribing could be a useful part of self-audit for hospitals.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 145 , Issue 5 , November 1984 , pp. 502 - 507
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Present address: Senior Registrar, Worcester Royal Infirmary, Newtown Branch, Newtown Road, Worcester WR5 1JG

References

Diamond, H., Tislow, R., Snyder, T. & Ricketts, K. (1976) Peer review of prescribing pattern in a CMHC, American Journal of Psychiatry, 133, 697–9.Google Scholar
Hemminki, E., (1977) Polypharmacy among psychiatric patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 56, 347–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herxheimer, A. (1976) Ignorance: educating doctors to use drugs well. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 3, 111–2.Google Scholar
Johnstone, E. C., Crow, T. J., Ferrier, I. N., Frith, C. D., Owens, D. G. C., Bourne, R. C. & Gamble, S. J. (1983) Adverse effects of anticholinergic medication on positive schizophrenic symptoms. Psychological Medicine, 13, 513–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klett, C. J. & Caffey, E. (1972) Evaluating the long-term need for antiparkinsonian drugs by chronic schizophrenics. Archives of General Psychiatry, 26, 374–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loga, S., Curry, S. & Lader, M. (1975) Interactions of orphenadrine and phenobarbitone with chlorpromazine: plasma concentrations and effects in man. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2, 197–208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marks, J. (1977) The doctor, the patient and psychotropic drugs. Update, May, 1195–1200.Google Scholar
Michel, K. & Kolakowska, T. (1981) A survey of psychotropic drug prescribing in two psychiatric hospitals. British Journal of Psychiatry, 138, 217–21.Google ScholarPubMed
McClelland, H. A., Blessed, G., Bhate, S., Ali, N. & Clarke, P. A. (1974) The abrupt withdrawal of antiparkinsonian drugs in schizophrenic patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 124, 151–9.Google Scholar
Orlov, P., Kasparian, G., Dimascio, A. & Cole, J. O. (1971) Withdrawal of anti-parkinsonian drugs. Archives of General Psychiatry, 25, 410–12.Google Scholar
Parish, P. A. (1973) What influences have led to an increased prescribing of psychotropic drugs? Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 23, 49–57.Google Scholar
Perris, C., Dimitrijevic, P., Jacobsson, L., Paulson, P., Rapp, W. & Froberg, H. (1979) Tardive dyskinesia in psychiatric patients treated with neuroleptics. British Journal of Psychiatry, 135, 509–14.Google Scholar
Potamianos, G. & Kellet, J. M. (1982) Acticholinergic drugs and memory: The effects of benzhexol on memory in a group of geriatric patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 470–2.Google Scholar
Prien, R. F., Balter, M. B. & Caffey, E. M. (1978) Hospital surveys of prescribing practices with psychotherapeutic drugs. Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 1271–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rifkin, A., Ouitken, F., Kane, J., Struve, F. & Klein, D. F. (1978) Are prophylactic anti-parkinsonian drugs necessary? Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 483–9.Google Scholar
Sheppard, C., Collins, L., Florentino, D., Fracchia, J. & Merliss, S. (1969) Polypharmacy in psychiatric treatment: 1. Incidence at a state hospital. Current Therapeutic Research, 11, 765–74.Google Scholar
Skippard, C., Merlis, S. & Collins, L. (1970) Polypharmacy in psychiatry: patterns of differential treatment. American Journal of Psychiatry, 126, 123–7.Google Scholar
Tyrer, P. (1978) Drug treatment of psychiatric patients in general practice. British Medical Journal, 2, 1008–10.Google Scholar
Van Putten, T., May, R. A. & Wilkins, J. N. (1980). ‘Akinetic depression’ in schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 35, 1101–7.Google Scholar
Van Putten, T., May, R. A. & Wilkins, J. N. (1980) Importance of akinesia: plasma chlorpromazine and prolactin levels. American Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 1446–8.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.